To be very scared at the details of the Universal tax credit?

[Feminine]

I had no idea.

I've been away from the UK, and just saw the actual proposals/rules on another thread.

Its bad right?

I imagine there is another thread on this so if there is, sorry ...I can't find it! :)

right betsy

Got to be better than here though!

Notwell if the parents had to leave the house before the DC's to get to work and then not finish until 5 at earliest plus travelling then at least 3 nights a week (24 hrs is the goal no?) a child could be alone for long enough to get into serious mischief!

Ok if the parents can stagger their work hours but not everyone can.

I think the principal of the UC is a good idea-get it all under one umbrella- and I agree that to qualify for them there HAS to be some work commitment.

I just worry about the restrictions on some families that may not be workable/enforceable

Has the law been passed?

bossy thats what I am worried about too.

God Feminine, I thought you meant you wanted to stay home only because of your 13 yo, now that I would disagree with if you cannot support yourself. However with pre-school kids I think you should be allowed to be a SAHM.

If someone works under the 24 hours, will they make them do workfare to top up the hours to 24?

I can see there being protests & riots over this.

People can't find the jobs that give sufficient paid hours to make them eligible so are pushed into a workfare shelf stacking job at Tesco/Poundland. If these companies made the jobs available as real jobs, more people would find real work and not be pushed onto workfare. It's all a bit messed up really.

Where is the other thread? I would like to see the proposed rules please.

Can someone link the other thread please?.

Bertie, there's something in the last couple of posts on here

The thread reached 1000 posts, the details are 4th post from the end.

I'm also wondering whether dp would have to sign on JSA? If he worked under 16 hours atm he would have to sign on, so are they changing JSA to under 24 hours and you have to sign on? Also would this entitle us to free school meals? as at the minute if you claim CTC but not WTC you can. There is very little information about what happens after this rule comes in and eventhough i'm doing my best to get a job i dont think its going to happen in the next month. (We only got the official letter telling us about the change around Christmas time so they've effectively only given us 3 months notice to up our hours)

Question:

Where will all these 24 or 35 hr/week jobs goig to come from if massive companies will be getting their available jobs done essentially for free due to workfare?

kayano very good question.

Zelda, i dont think theres any mention of FSM. The WTC increse to 24 hours was announced in 2010 from memory and was in the budget along with the cut in tax credits for earnings over £26k etc.

Jesus, WTF?

Reading and thinking about all this is really getting me down. If someone offered me a job that worked round dp's hours i'd snatch it up no matter what it was. Unfortunetly no one is willing to hire someone who has had no experience for 8 years and has family commitments.

We're a similar position Zelda - very rural area with not much chance of DH getting an extra job to make up the hours or for me to get one that would fit in with childcare for a 5 year old and a 12 month old. DH has been applying for anything remotely suitable but so far we've had no luck. Can't see that changing anytime soon.

I know it was announced a while back, but tbh if i didnt come on here i wouldn't of known about it. I dont watch the news or read papers.

OMG fucking scary. I predict a riot.

HappyMummyOfOne Sat 18-Feb-12 14:32:47
Its not set in stone but it doesnt seem that bad from the bits i've read and its not complulsory to claim. It seems to exclude DLA and CB so they remain the same.

No DLA is not staying the same, it is being replace

Well we're stuffed because I work 3 days a week and DH I'd doing a pgce. Unfortunately none of his 80 hours a week count and my days are 7.5 hours. Between us we need another hour and a halfs work a week which will be worth about £300 a month to us.

It's compounded by the fact that I'm on mat leave and my salary runs out in April too so come April our income will be cb + smp which nearly covers the mortgage but not electric or food. It is hard. What's harder OS that where we are nobody is taking on teachers without 5 years experience so dh's prospects of getting a job are approaching zero from underneath. I'm aware that its what we have chosen but it'd pretty scary.

Dp is a landscaper by trade, but gave that up when he moved here to be with me (big mistake i know) But he has been wanting to get back into it by starting a little business of his own, but i'm terrified that if he does we could lose a lot of money if it doesnt work out. But i think that may be what we have to do to get through this (around his current job, i wont let him pack his job in until he starts to make a profit lol).

Zelda - take heart, it can be done. I've had 21 years at home because I could afford to plus taking care of an elderly grandmother (not claiming carers or anything)

However, when grandmother passed away, I felt as if I needed something more in life and now work as a passenger escort transporting children with special needs to school and back. It adds up to 20 hours a week. I wouldn't say I had experience at all - local authority trained me and put me on courses - but fact is I did have 21 years out of work. I'm late 40's, and I take the opinion that if I can do that, most people can. Take heart - grab a bit of confidence and go for it.

I am a carer for a 14yo DS with SN and if my circumstances hadn't changed recently I would be screwed by this.

I know many other families locally who would be too. Teenagers with SN just aren't capable of being independent in the same way as other children, DS has a mental age of 7 when it comes to things like appliances, dealing with emergencies, so it would be comparable to leaving a 7yo at home. And during school holidays it would be much longer than just a few hours at home.

We are lucky, I was a LP until early this year when I got married, and DH's salary means we won't be considered for UC anyway, so there will be no conditions on us and I will be able to continue being a carer. But this is quite rare, most LPs find it impossible to go out and meet someone new, I know lots of families in that position and they don't know what they're going to do.